VOLUSIA COUNTY, Fla. – A man threatened employees at a gas station who wouldn’t sell him a cigar then continued his profanity-laced tirade as he hurled insults from the back of a patrol vehicle, according to the Volusia County Sheriff’s Office.
Deputies said employees at a RaceTrac on Howland Boulevard in Deltona called them Wednesday morning because a 22-year-old man refused to leave the store.
The man spit toward an employee and threatened to beat up another employee and his mother because they wouldn’t sell him a cigar without an ID, according to the affidavit.
As he was leaving, the man said he had a gun and would shoot up the convenience store if he got arrested, records show.
Deputies said they found the man walking in traffic near the intersection of Howland Boulevard and Wolf Pack Run and when they approached him, he was extremely uncooperative. He told deputies his first name was an expletive and his last name was “you,” according to the report.
He refused to provide his identification and instead yelled, “(expletive) you pigs,” and “I will kill you,” at the deputies, authorities said.
Video from a deputy’s patrol car shows the man continued cursing and making threats after he was taken into custody.
“You better have some guns at your house and your wife better have some guns with her and she better know how to (expletive) use them. Guess what? I ain’t gonna touch your kids but they (expletive) better be somewhere in hiding because, listen, I ain’t gonna leave no eye witness. So if your kids is old enough to point me out in a line up, guess what? I’mma burn they (expletive) alive, (racial slur),” the man said, according to the video.
The deputy, who was typing up a document while parked, did not respond to the man’s comments.
The man had to be placed in a mask because he spit in the back of the patrol car and ripped the cord from the deputy’s printer, according to the affidavit.
Records show the threats continued when the deputy started driving.
“I’mma kill you. I’mma kill your kids. I’mma kill your wife. I’mma kill your momma. I’mma kill your whole next of kin and (expletive) your boss, (expletive) Sheriff Michael Chitwood,” the man said in the video. “I know he lives in Daytona. I’m gonna find out where exactly. I’mma blow his (expletive) whole house up. He’s not gonna see it coming. It’s all documented as a threat, so when it happens, they gonna know exactly who did it.”
He also threatened to kill anyone who testified against him in court, authorities said.
Chitwood said he wasn’t fazed by the remarks.
“I’ve been doing this a long time -- for 32 years. I’ve been threatened a million times,” Chitwood said.
Chitwood said he spoke with the man’s father, who explained that the man has a mental illness and wasn’t taking his medication. The father also said he called for help before the incident because his son threatened to kill him and his wife.
“You’re dealing with someone with a mental illness, who’s not really dealing with reality. If they get a hold of a weapon, this is one of those things where he could easily kill his family,” Chitwood said.
The man was arrested on several charges.
Chitwood said he plans to work with the man’s family to get him help.
“They don’t want to see their son hurt anybody and nor do they want to see us have to kill their son. So, I think that’s a positive step forward that’s coming out of today,” Chitwood said.